


A Dance in the Dark

by estelraca



Category: InCryptid - Seanan McGuire
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Dancing, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: Verity knows she made the right choice--again--when she walked away from the world of dance.  That doesn't keep her subconscious from questioning the decisions she's made, much to her annoyance.
Relationships: Dominic De Luca/Verity Price
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Purimgifts 2021





	A Dance in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [autobotscoutriella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/autobotscoutriella/gifts).



> A brief coda to Chaos Choreography, because I adore Verity and Dominic and love seeing them together.

_A Dance in the Dark_

Verity wakes shivering in the dark, and presses herself closer to Dominic's warm body.

_This is what you chose_.

The words feel heavy, though they shouldn't. It took her so long to make the final, irrevocable choice, and yet... her dreams still don't seem willing to let it go. How many times does she have to walk away from dancing before her subconscious understands that it's just not meant to be?

In another world, maybe she would have been wonderful. In another world she could have had friends and enemies and frenemies among the athletes that make up the competitive dance world, and she would have danced until her ankles and knees couldn't take it anymore, and she would have been a star.

She still sees that world in her dreams. Even after _her_ world, the _true_ world, swooped in and devoured that fake one, fed it to a snake in the hopes of attaining power, Verity still sees what could have been. What _should_ be, but instead she got to declare war on her husband's abusive ex-colleagues before walking away from the ashes of everything she once thought she wanted more than the rest of the world.

“Verity?” Dominic's accent is thicker when he's sleepy. “Can't sleep again?”

“Depends on what you mean by _sleep_ and _can't_.” The attempt at banter falls heavy in the dark of their motel room.

Dominic's hand reaches out, strokes gently over her cheek. His eyes are black in the darkness, but his lips and breath are still warm as he gathers her face and presses kisses to her eyes and her nose and her mouth.

It helps. Perhaps it's just animal instinct, enjoying the comfort of another living human, but touching Dominic helps her shake off the last of the dream.

Dominic pulls back, and Verity gives a little whimper of dismay. A low chuckle rumbles his chest. “Don't worry, I'll keep going if that's what you want. But I thought I might also ask if you'd like to dance.”

Verity's brain stops working.

Dominic's fingers brush gently across her cheek again. “If it would be too painful still, we don't have to. But I thought... since that seems to be what your bad dreams are of lately...”

Verity shivers again, pressing herself against his taut, well-muscled body. It won't be anything like the dancing she does in her dreams. Dominic is a good dancer, but Verity is a _great_ dancer. Still... if a handsome man wants to dance with her...

She pulls Dominic out of bed, appreciating even his silhouette in the darkness. Dominic's free hand snags his phone as he allows himself to be guided, and after a few moments of squinting and fumbling, music begins filling their room.

It's not a song that she's danced to before. Verity is glad of that, even as her body instinctively finds the rhythm and the opportunities in the melody line.

Dominic holds out his hands, offering to lead her.

Verity drapes herself around him, closing her eyes and trusting to his judgment.

There isn't room to properly dance, not with the way the bed and the table are set, not with the way the walls press in. But Dominic does the best that he can with the skills that he has, and it's better than not dancing at all.

The song comes to an end, and Dominic pulls her tight to his body. “I'm sorry, still, that the world prevents you from having all of your dreams.”

“I'm sorry, too. But not because of what I chose.” Verity leans up to press a kiss to his lips. “I did what had to be done.”

“Going on national television and threatening the Covenant and everyone else with an agenda?” Dominic's lips curl up into an understanding smile.

Verity nods. “Yep.”

Dominic nods, his expression set in grave acceptance. “Then a war it shall be. But not _just_ a war. I want to dance with you when we're able. I want to help you keep your skills. I want to make sure that if we ever _do_ make a world where dancing doesn't mean ignoring a greater risk, you can step forward and seize your place and the life you deserve.”

It's something she's thought herself—that she _deserves_ a life in competitive dance, that the fact she can't have it is a cruelty of the universe. It feels less reasonable from Dominic's lips, and Verity gives her head a shake. “I don't deserve it. I _want_ it, and I could _earn_ it, but I don't deserve it. No more than anyone deserves a chance to chase their dreams.”

“I know someone who would tell me that everyone _does_ deserve that chance.” Dominic takes her hand, his other hand sliding to her waist, preparing to guide her again.

Verity allows him to. “Everyone does. But I'm happy with the decision I made.”

“I know.” Dominic dips her. “Just like I know you made the right choice, and I know we're going to fight together. Knowing something is true, knowing something is _right_ , and not regretting that it's the only path one can take... that is a feeling I am quite familiar with.”

Verity allows Dominic to spin her out and then pull her back to his chest. “I don't want to mope or ask for sympathy or anything.”

“You're not.” Dominic's hands both fall to her waist, holding her firmly. “You're just being human.”

“This human loves you.” Verity wraps her arms around his neck, swaying into his body.

“Just as I love you.” Dominic rests his forehead against hers.

Verity knows the dreams won't stop just because of this, though she wishes they would. She knows that dancing with Dominic won't be anything like dancing with a partner at her level. She knows that her dance skills will fade as she focuses on the fighting skills that will keep her and her family alive.

She doesn't regret her decisions. She knows she's chosen the life that is better for her and for Dominic and for the world.

But she will still cherish this late-night dance, and she will love the man who thinks to arrange it, and she will dream of a world that maybe should have been.

She's only human, after all, and there's nothing else she'd rather be.


End file.
